Border Crossing: Collaborative Theological Reflection for Ministry
"Border Crossing: Collaborative Theological Reflection for Ministry," funded by a generous gift from the Lilly Endowment, will offer a three year cycle of conferences, consultations, teaching partnerships and reflection groups, all exploring the relationship between the professions of teaching and ministry.
At the Divinity School, Ph.D. and M.Div. students study side-by-side, sharing a common faculty and common coursework, and so we are uniquely situated to look more closely at what might be gained by a richer and more intentional conversation about our companion professions. The project will bring together practicing ministers, Divinity School and seminary faculty, M.Div. and Ph.D. students in a variety of venues designed to enhance the well-informed and deeply-engaged practice of teachers and pastors alike.
Questions may be directed to Cynthia Lindner, Director of Ministry Studies and Clinical Faculty for Preaching and Pastoral Care in the Divinity School.
The Border Crossing Conference Series
A cycle of three conferences each academic year provide opportunities for ministers, faculty, M.Div. and Ph.D. students to explore the interrelatedness of their intellectual interests and professional pursuits. The autumn conference will examine issues of professional practice that ministers and teachers might hold in common; the winter conference will bring scholars and practitioners together to explore some dimension of religious experience or practice; and the spring conference, which is student-organized, invites broad interdisciplinary conversation around a current concern for public ministry.
All conferences take place in Swift Hall and are free and open to the public.
Border Crossing Conferences, 2009-2010
"Changing Minds," September 25, 2009
"The Prophetic Interpreter: Preaching and Teaching from Scriptural Traditions in Pluralistic Worlds," February 19, 2010
Border Crossing Conferences, 2008-2009
"Authority and Intimacy: Forming Whole Persons for the Classroom and the Congregation," September 26, 2008
"Resisting Mission: Redefining Engagement" January 23, 2009
Fifth Annual Student-organized Ministry Conference, May 1-2, 2009
Border Crossing Conferences, 2007-2008
"Advocacy in the Pulpit and the Classroom,” September 19, 2007
Franklin I. Gamwell, keynote address. (Click to view program and materials from the event.)
"Music in American Religious Experience: Individuals and Communities," January 25, 2008
Scholars, clergy, musicians, and others reflect on the place of music in religious lives and communities.
Fourth Annual Divinity School Ministry Conference: From Dust to Steel: Human Being as Creature and Creator
April 18, 2008
Lilly Teaching Fellows
The Border Crossing Project enriches the Divinity School's Ministry Program by bringing additional voices into the classroom. Faculty, doctoral students, and clergy collaborate in teaching, reflecting their academic endeavors, vocational commitments, and diverse experiences in their work with the students. The collaboration benefits all participants--ministry students by broadening the classroom discussion, faculty by encouraging new teaching styles, doctoral students by offering experience teaching in theological education, and clergy by enriching their ministry.
Student Teaching Fellows and Partners, 2010-2011
Autumn Quarter: Preaching, featuring Rev. Bill Obalil, United Methodist Church of Geneva, IL., and Rev. Paul Ford, a PhD student in Theology.
Winter Quarter: Worship, featuring Rev. Carol McVetty, a pastor from North Shore Baptist Church, and Jonathan Soyars, a PhD student in Early Christian Literature.
Spring Quarter: Pastoral Care, Rev John Hobbs, pastor at Church of the Three Crosses in Lincoln Park, and Michelle Harrington, PhD student in Ethics.
Visit the archive for a list of past fellows.
Theologians-in-Residence
The project has been supporting teams each made up of one M.Div. and one PhD or MA student who collaborate with Chicago-area congregations on a topic relevant to the congregation's life and witness. The teams design and implement educational events, consult with congregational boards and committees, and identify resources for on-going congregational engagement with the topic. Click here for more information and a list of currently supported projects.
